Article 1 of the Dutch Constitution

Article 1
All persons in the Netherlands shall be treated equally in equal circumstances. Discrimination on the grounds of religion, belief, political opinion, race or sex or on other grounds whatsoever shall not be permitted.

Article 1 of the Dutch Constitution stands for equality before the law and the prohibition of discrimination. However, when it comes to Sinterklaas en Zwarte Piet (Santa Claus and Black Pete) the Dutch act as if article 1 only applies to the white Dutch. They consider their blatant exhibition of racism in the form of their blackfaced Petes - and thus ridiculing Black people as a whole - as their constitutional right, instead of a violation of other people’s human rights. Especially the Black Dutch from the former Caribbean colonies are not entitled to equality before the law nor can they successfully claim protection against discrimination.